Gene Parsons

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Gene Parsons
Born (1944-09-04) September 4, 1944 (age 80)
Morongo Valley, Mojave Desert, California, U.S.
GenresRock, Country rock, Bluegrass, Country
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter, engineer
Instrument(s)drums, guitar, banjo, harmonica, pedal steel, vocals, percussion
Years active1966–present
LabelsBakersfield International, Columbia, Warner Bros., Sierra, Stringbender
Website http://stringbender.com

Gene Victor Parsons (born September 4, 1944, in Morongo Valley, California) is an American drummer, banjo player, guitarist, singer-songwriter, and engineer, best known for his work with the Byrds from 1968 to 1972. Parsons has also released solo albums and played in bands including Nashville West, the Flying Burrito Brothers, and Parsons Green. Along with guitarist Clarence White, he is credited with inventing the B-Bender (also known as the StringBender)—a device which allows a guitarist to emulate the sound of a pedal steel guitar. [1] The device is often referred to as the Parsons/White B-Bender, a trademarked name. [1]

Contents

Early career and the Byrds

Gene Parsons was born on September 4, 1944, on his family's farm in Morongo Valley in the Mojave Desert, California. [2] [3] His professional musical career began when he joined up with guitarist and Fiddle player Gib Guilbeau in the duo Guilbeau & Parsons. [4] Later the duo was joined by Clarence White, former guitarist with the Kentucky Colonels, and bassist Wayne Moore to form the band Nashville West, named after a club where the band often performed. [5]

After the dissolution of Nashville West, Parsons was brought into the Byrds by White (who had recently become the band's guitarist), to replace drummer Kevin Kelley. [6] Parsons remained with the band for four years, principally as a drummer, but he also contributed guitar, banjo, harmonica and a number of his own songs to the albums Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde , Ballad of Easy Rider , (Untitled) , Byrdmaniax and Farther Along . [3] [7]

Post-Byrds career

His first solo album, Kindling , was released in 1973 on Warner Bros. Records, after the Byrds broke up. [4] Although Kindling received positive reviews in music publications such as Rolling Stone , it failed to reach the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart. [3] [8] Following this, Parsons joined the Flying Burrito Brothers, like other ex-Byrds Chris Hillman, Gram Parsons (no relation) and Michael Clarke had done before him. [3] [9] While he was a member of the Burritos, with Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Chris Ethridge, Skip Battin, Joel Scott Hill and Gib Guilbeau, Parsons contributed a number of songs to the band's Flying Again and Airborne albums, including "Wind and Rain", "Sweet Desert Childhood", and "Out of Control".

After his tenure with the Flying Burrito Brothers ended in 1978, Parsons released a second solo album entitled Melodies in 1979. [3] Since the mid-1980s, he has also released two albums with his ex-wife, California based folk musician Meridian Green, under the moniker of Parsons Green. [10]

During 1994, he was a member of "The Byrds Celebration", a tribute band formed by guitarist Terry Rogers that had originated with former Byrds' drummer Michael Clarke, who had died in 1993, and which also included fellow ex-Byrd Skip Battin. [11] Parsons was also part of the band Haywire (not to be confused with the Canadian band of the same name), along with Joe Craven, Bill Douglass and Will Siegel, and features on the band's 1998 album, Bluegrass Christmas. [4]

In 2001, Parsons released a third solo album, this time a live recording, entitled Gene Parsons in Concert – I Hope They Let Us In, which was released on his own StringBender record label. [4] He also collaborated with British singer-songwriter Julian Dawson on the 2002 album Hillbilly Zen. [4] Parsons teamed with David Hayes in 2016 to release the Gene Parsons & David Hayes album, [12] and, in 2017, the pair formed the Mendocino Quartet with Gwyneth Moreland and Steven Bates, releasing the album Way Out There. [13]

Other work

As well as his work with Nashville West, the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers, Parsons has also played on records by Arlo Guthrie, the Everly Brothers, the Gosdin Brothers, Randy Newman, and Elliott Murphy. [4] He also played on the soundtrack album of the 1970 film Performance , contributing both drums and guitar. [14] His work on the album included playing drums on the track "Memo From Turner", which would end up being Mick Jagger's first single release as a solo artist.[ citation needed ]

Gene Parsons currently lives in Caspar, California, spending much of his time in his machine shop and customizing guitars with the StringBender device. In an 8/29/2024 radio interview with Daniel Jones (guitarist with 7th Order) on his "The Volcano Chronicles" radio show (KNKR 96.1FM on the Big Island of Hawaii) - Parsons stated that he has been working on an autobiography, and that he is now considering publishing options at this point. [15]

Selected album discography

The Byrds

Gene Parsons

The Flying Burrito Brothers

Nashville West

Parsons Green

Haywire

Guilbeau & Parsons

Gene Parsons & David Hayes

The Mendocino Quartet

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"Hickory Wind" is a song written by country rock artist Gram Parsons and former International Submarine Band member Bob Buchanan. The song was written on a train ride the pair took from Florida to Los Angeles in early 1968, and first appeared on The Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo album. Despite Buchanan's input, "Hickory Wind" is generally considered to be Parsons' signature song. Parsons' decision to play "Hickory Wind" instead of the planned Merle Haggard cover "Life in Prison" during The Byrds' performance at the Grand Ole Opry on March 15, 1968 "pissed off the country music establishment" and stunned Opry regulars to such an extent that the song is now considered essential to Parsons' legend.

Nashville West was a short-lived American country rock quartet, that was briefly together in the late 1960s. The group comprised multi-instrumentalist Gene Parsons, guitarist Clarence White, singer-guitarist-fiddler Gib Guilbeau and bassist Wayne Moore. Parsons and White left the band to join The Byrds while Guilbeau and Parsons later joined the Flying Burrito Brothers.

Floyd August "Gib" Guilbeau was an American Cajun country rock musician and songwriter. As a member of Nashville West, Swampwater, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and later The Burrito Brothers, Guilbeau helped pioneer the fusion of rock and country music in the 1960s.

Kevin Daniel Kelley was an American drummer, best known for his work with the rock bands the Byrds and the Rising Sons. Kelley also played drums for Fever Tree, although it is unknown whether he was an official member of the group or not. Kelley is the cousin of country rock pioneer and ex-member of the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers, Chris Hillman.

John York Foley is an American bassist and guitarist. He is best known for his work with the Byrds.

References

  1. 1 2 "Parsons-White String Bender". Vintage Guitar. Archived from the original on June 15, 2009. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
  2. ↑ Rogan, Johnny (1998). The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited. Rogan House. p. 268. ISBN   0-9529540-1-X.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Gene Parsons - This Byrd Has Flown". Triste Magazine. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Gene Parsons-related records". Byrds Flyght. Archived from the original on June 8, 2017. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Nashville West". ByrdWatcher: A Field Guide to the Byrds of Los Angeles. Archived from the original on April 25, 2009. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
  6. ↑ Rogan, Johnny (1998). The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited. Rogan House. p. 276. ISBN   0-9529540-1-X.
  7. ↑ Rogan, Johnny (1998). The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited. Rogan House. p. 585. ISBN   0-9529540-1-X.
  8. ↑ "Gene Parsons chart data". Ultimate Music Database. Retrieved January 3, 2010.
  9. ↑ "The Flying Burrito Brothers Biography". Allmusic . Retrieved January 3, 2010.
  10. ↑ "Gene Parsons Biography". Allmusic . Retrieved January 3, 2010.
  11. ↑ Rogan, Johnny (1998). The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited (2nd ed.). Rogan House. p. 538. ISBN   0-9529540-1-X.
  12. ↑ Hayes, Kate. "Gene Parsons and David Hayes". musicofmendocino.com. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  13. ↑ Hayes, Kate. "The Mendocino Quartet". musicofmendocino.com. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Performance (1970) credits". Screenonline . British Film Institute . Retrieved February 26, 2014.
  15. ↑ ""The Volcano Chronicles" with special guest Gene Parsons". 7th Order on Instagram. September 5, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
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